


Platinum Moonlight

by SoulPhrase



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fantasy, Firefighter Dimitri, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:02:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29372775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulPhrase/pseuds/SoulPhrase
Summary: The firefighter Dimitri A. Blaiddyd encounters a mysterious woman and saves her life. He has to pay the price for his act of generosity, which has endangered them both.Written for the Three Houses AU Bang.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & My Unit | Byleth, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 33
Collections: The Three Houses AU Bang





	Platinum Moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> My partner for this AU bang is houoney, who you can find on Instagram! I'm planning to post updates for this fic on Sundays and tags will be updated as we go. If something warrants a tag that I missed feel free to let me know!

Thirty-five minutes.

  
That’s how long Dimitri has before his next shift, leaving a brief chance to pick up a warm meal and bring it to the station. Not like he doesn’t have options there, but food takes time to prepare and cook… and eat. He sleeps late enough as is, despite Dedue’s best efforts to help him rest sooner. It can’t be helped during the night shifts.  
Dimitri sighs as he makes it to the edge of the crosswalk, staring at the light across the street. It often doesn’t take so long to turn green, but traffic is unusually packed tonight. Four minutes idle by, Dimitri checking his phone for missed texts and browsing his to-do list for tomorrow. He won’t make it at this rate.

He has to find an alternate route.

Dimitri makes a quick turn back the way he came, swiveling to his left in hopes of catching a block with less traffic. Heading through alleys is his shortest path to take, even at this hour. He is more than capable of defending himself if necessary. Tucking his phone into his pocket, Dimitri steps through the nearest alleyway.

A sudden rattle shakes him to his senses and Dimitri turns towards the source: a miniscule pair of green eyes. The darkness makes it difficult to distinguish what they belong to, likely just a black cat. It must have knocked over a trash can when he walked by. Dimitri checks his pockets for a treat to offer, only to come up empty handed.  
“Sorry,” Dimitri mumbles to the animal. “Maybe next time.”

The cat meows and ducks behind some nearby trash as he turns to leave. Another reminder for him to donate to shelters in need, given the surplus of stray animals in this city.

  
With that thought, the same cat scampers into his path again. He nearly stepped on the poor thing this time. In its jaws is something glossy and purple, too pristine to be a component of regular garbage. Dimitri kneels down to get a better look, heart sinking when he realizes what it is.  
A woman’s shoe.

  
That could indicate nothing at all, but better to survey the area just in case. He begins with the corner that the cat had emerged from prior. His fears are quickly confirmed by a thickening scent of iron.

  
It isn’t much longer before he discovers the source, hunched against a wall behind a dumpster: a young woman. Dimitri sprints beside her, already pulling out his phone to call for help.

  
Her forehead and the wall behind her are dampened with blood, her throat slightly bruised. The dark blue of her hair makes it difficult to see how grisly her injuries are. Likely got into a fight that she had no chance of winning from the start. One of her feet lies bare, the other adorned with a matching purple heel.  
“Are you okay?” Dimitri calls out. As expected, no response.

  
“Damn it.”

  
It’s faster to contact the station directly for emergency care, considering the traffic and how they must be walking distance away. He rushes to check this woman’s pulse as he waits for Dedue to pick up the line. Her wrist is clammy beneath his fingertips as he checks once, three times before Dimitri lets it slip from his grasp.

  
No pulse.

‘Can’t save them all,’ he has to remind himself. It’s not smart to get attached, but the possibilities flood his mind regardless. What if he had shown up just minutes sooner? Could this woman’s life have been saved?

  
No, it’s not over yet. He can administer CPR at least, but the outlook isn’t good. He gently lays the woman on her back, kneeling beside her to perform rescue breathing and apply compressions to her chest.

“Dimitri?”

  
He set the phone nearby on speaker so he could focus, moving it up to rest on his shoulder.

“There’s an alley to the right of Arianrhod Way, you have to hurry. There’s a woman...”

As ‘woman’ leaves his lips, a sudden pain jolts through his arm. It starts with a prickle on his wrist, and Dimitri can’t believe his eyes.  
The woman has her mouth pressed firm to his arm, blood trickling down as she bites him. Her touch is cold, but she is clearly conscious. Alive.

  
Relief that his efforts weren’t in vain doesn’t last long. His vision begins to blur, surroundings whirling, fading fast. Dedue’s voice is distant, far gone as Dimitri loses consciousness.

* * *

Groaning, Dimitri comes to a slow awakening.

  
His stomach churns at a warm, confusing scent in front of him; sweet, yet meaty. Hunched forward, he reaches to cradle his face in his hands but finds his head still suspended in the air. He tries again, only to discover his wrists fastened behind his back. Shuffling his restraints springs Dimitri awake, breath hitching as he pulls against them in vain. Tugging his legs reinforces that his ankles are bound as well.

  
Terror begins to set in, but Dimitri takes a deep breath, closing his eyes with his exhale. No use panicking if he isn’t able to move.  
Gathering his thoughts, he remembers the injured woman. How he administered CPR, followed by a bite to his arm aggressive enough to draw blood. His wrist is no longer sore, though he can’t reach back and assess the damage. It couldn’t have been a trap of sorts, or did she know who he was at the time?  
Whatever the reason, she must be the one responsible for taking him here. Wherever here was.

The abode seems relatively simple: everything is clean and in order, at least from a glance. Closed drapes indicate where the windows must be, though the room is lit with assorted candles and lamps. He sits at a dining table, adorned with fake pink and purple flowers. A metal cloche conceals the contents of a plate in front of him, though no utensils accompany it. Dimitri snorts.  
As if he could eat like this anyway.

His attention draws to a door pushing open, confirming his suspicions. Behind it is the woman from before, though her vibrant green hair contrasts its prior ashen-blue. She looks exceptionally clean...not a scratch or even a speck of blood in sight. Her gaze is intense as she looks him over and approaches the table. Sweat runs down Dimitri’s back, uncertain what could possibly be going through her mind. Well, he had some ideas, hopefully without truth to them.

“You’re awake,” she says calmly, her voice flat.  
“I suppose,” Dimitri stumbles out, unsure what else to say or do in this situation. He can’t exactly call for help, but should wait for an opening to make his move. Luckily, she seems keen on carrying the conversation for him.

“Thank you.”

That wasn’t what Dimitri had expected to hear. He jerks his head back to look her in the eye. This woman is difficult to read, but the better part of him wants to think she’s being genuine. Seeing how dumbfounded he must look, the woman sighs. She pulls a chair out to sit across from him.  
“For earlier. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I could’ve died.”

Oh, that’s right. But before any rescuing could have been done, she’d bitten him on the arm and brought him here. Kidnapping isn’t the way to express gratitude.  
“You’re… welcome?”

  
The woman nods, never taking her eyes off of him. Dimitri squirms a bit under her watch which doesn’t go unnoticed. He wonders if she enjoys this, somehow.

“How do you feel now? I presume that means you remember what happened.”  
Dimitri shuffles his wrists from behind the chair.

“I’ve been better. If you only intended to chat, there was no need to tie me up.”

The woman gets up from her seat.  
“That’s because you’re correct. I did intend to do more than exchange words with you.”  
Dimitri’s heart sinks as she steps closer, heels clacking against the floor. He closes his eyes out of reflex when she approaches him more closely, though opens them again at the sound of clattering porcelain.

“You must be exhausted,” she mutters.  
With the cloche lifted, a bowl filled with vegetables and meat in a simmering brown broth is revealed. He was feeling hungry, though his stomach lurched at the possibilities of what could’ve been inside.

“It’s safe, if that is your concern. I would have killed you by now if that were my intention.”  
That much is true, mortifying as her honesty can be. She’s had several opportunities to wipe him out, or threaten his life in exchange for money. It doesn’t seem like she knows who he is, after all.

“I drained enough blood to kill you, had you been anemic. But you’re quite a tall man and have the blood to spare, don’t you?”

  
That gives Dimitri a reason to worry. The reason for wounding him was to drink his blood?  
He could ask, but he isn’t sure how far he wants to push the line with this woman. Who had ever seen or heard of real vampires before? Considering the mysterious circumstances of her revival and rendering him unconscious with a bite on his arm, he doesn’t have much else to cling onto.

“I see...”  
Relenting, Dimitri’s cheeks flush when he realizes this woman brought a spoon and napkin for him. She certainly has no intentions of freeing his hands for the dignity of eating on his own and risk an escape.  
A gentle hand cups his chin, likely feeling a lump go down Dimitri’s throat in an anxious swallow. He doesn’t need pressure to eat yet she insists on it anyway, prying his mouth open with care and easing a spoonful of stew inside. His lips wrap around the spoon on his own.

“How is it? I tried to make it suitable towards a man’s palate, considering what I have.”  
Truth be told, Dimitri can’t taste it at all. It’s been that way for at least a decade. She seems strangely hopeful that he will enjoy it, though. But he doesn’t. want to lie to her either.

“I don’t dislike it.” She seems satisfied with that answer.

“Do you want more, or are you not hungry?”

  
Trusting that the food isn’t laced with anything dangerous, Dimitri takes the plunge and quietly nods. Hopefully she has no malicious intentions that require him to still be alive, seeing as she’s keeping him prisoner. He never got the chance to grab his dinner that night, either...  
How long has he been unconscious?  
Bite by bite, Dimitri musters up the courage to ask his pressing question.

“If you didn’t plan to kill me, then why are you keeping me here?”

The woman blinks at him.  
“Truthfully, I haven’t decided yet.”  
Oh.

“By watching me bite, you already know too much.” She hesitates.  
“The wound is already dangerous proof. I’m sorry.”

She didn’t have to explain that line further. If vampires were real all along, it could only be done with great feats of secrecy. At least she has the heart to apologize for leaving him in this dilemma.  
“You did what you had to for survival.”

  
His understanding seems to touch a nerve or at least catch her off guard. Her words implied that he needs to be silenced, but she hasn’t done so yet. Dimitri musters up the courage to ask more.  
“So why the hesitation?”

He doesn’t understand the ramifications of her keeping him here alive, though there has to be many. He can visualize the panic if people in the city were aware that vampires could be living among them. Once he’s finished his bowl, the woman moves it aside.

  
“It’s strange, but I’ve already come to like you.”

Gratitude is part of it, sure, but it seems the reason she’s given him is simple luck. She’s fond of him enough not to kill him on the spot: that’s all it amounts to. Great.  
How much longer he can bring up questions without edging towards her bad side? He’s done a fairly good job of staying calm, so far.

  
“Is there a reason you’ve fed me, then?”  
Hopefully she didn’t intend on fattening him up as a meal of her own. Perhaps binding him here as a replenishable blood source. The thought makes him shudder.

“It’s the least I should do,” she shrugs. “If I do end up killing you, at least it won’t be on an empty stomach.”

Wow, very reassuring.  
“Er, I see. Then where do you stand right now? What are your thoughts?”  
Her hand drifts back to his chin, brushing a lingering trail of broth off. She took the effort of bringing a napkin with her but chose to use her thumb anyway.

“For certain, I can’t allow you to leave.” She runs her finger down from his chin and along his neck. “But killing you would also be such a waste.”  
Dimitri didn’t want to bring up that the crew would definitely be looking for him, among many others. He was well known in the community as a firefighter, and he didn’t want to provoke her into silencing anyone else for her own personal secrets. The best option seems to be staying compliant, though what other choice does he have?

“I’m Byleth, by the way.”

  
He certainly hadn’t expected to hear a name so soon, if at all from his kidnapper. Considering the risk Byleth must be putting herself in, hopefully this is a good sign. The implication, though, is that she would also like to hear his name. She could’ve just demanded it if she were so curious. As if on cue, she pipes in.  
“It isn’t right to ask for someone’s name without introducing yourself first.”

“Dimitri,” he responds. ‘Nice to meet you’ doesn’t seem proper given the circumstances.

  
She seems to appreciate his compliance, changing her posture to lean an elbow into the table. A turn of the head, relaxing her chin on an enclosed fist.

  
“Dimitri,” she repeats after him. He looks up, alert.  
“Yes?”  
“Why did you rescue me last night?” Given her acute focus on his features, Dimitri gets the sense that he’s being interrogated. An easy question to answer.

“I saw that you were injured and needed help. That’s all the reason I needed.”  
It felt natural to Dimitri at the time, but it did seem to startle Byleth somewhat. An answer she hadn’t expected? Something tugs at Dimitri’s heartstrings if that’s the case. With such grievous wounds, any other witness would have rushed in to try and help her.

“I see.”

  
She looks pensive, the moments following are silent and uncertain. With nothing else to do as she thinks, Dimitri tries to whip up some banter of his own. What do vampires even like? Even on the more human scale, he doesn’t know anything of what women do or like either. He hasn’t dated anyone since high school, and a vampire’s preferences are hardly comparable to a teenage girl’s.

  
How old could she be, anyway? She looked quite young, mid-twenties most likely. Her skin is quite fair and free of wrinkles, and if vampires mature as humans do then they could be the same age…

“So what’s your occupation?”  
The question snaps Dimitri out of it, and he responds before having the time to think about whether or not that would be a good idea.  
“I’m a firefighter.”

That catches her intrigue. She asks him all about the job from that point: all easy questions to answer, offering him the chance to share some of his stories on the job. He tries to avoid mentioning his coworkers, which hopefully Byleth doesn’t notice. Considering how attentive she’s been, he prays he isn’t putting them at risk as well.  
“Is that how you lost your eye?”

So she noticed. No matter the quality, a prosthetic eye will never look quite the same as its original. He tries to put on a smile despite the grim memory.

  
“Yeah, it was during a rescue. After putting out the fire, I didn’t expect the arsonist to linger around… let alone armed.” Dimitri sucks in a breath of air, a phantom pain throbbing in the right side of his face.  
“I’m lucky that all I lost was my eye.”

  
Byleth frowns, sympathetic.  
“I’m sorry, that must have been terrifying. Doesn’t the fire scare you?”

“Sometimes. But I can put it aside when I know that others can be saved.”  
His words seem to resonate with Byleth more than he expects. She has a small, pretty smile on her face.

“I’ve made my decision,” she says matter-of-factly. She strides up to Dimitri and undoes the ropes one at a time. He could make an attempt to run away now that he’s free, but she would easily stop him. Instead, he lifts his wrists up to examine them. The rope markings are minimal, but bruises cluster around where Byleth bit him. Two prominent puncture marks are barely starting to heal and tender to the touch.

  
“I’ll spare your life,” Byleth continues. “But you’re staying here. I can’t afford to let you free knowing that I’m a vampire.”

  
Like something out of a fairytale, it offers Dimitri little comfort to know that he’s supposed to live the rest of his days here. He will inevitably snap and want to break out at some point, but he doesn’t want to break Byleth’s trust either. They’ve just met and he barely knows anything about her, but this is for her safety. It would be an injustice to rob that from her. Perhaps somewhere along the line he can talk her into a compromise.

“I… understand.”  
The words come out heavy, like gravel. At least he can try to stay optimistic. Always look on the bright side, make lemonade out of lemons.  
‘Two men sat in a prison,’ his father had told him once. ‘One stared at the concrete beneath his feet. The other looked outside and only saw stars.’  
Perhaps he could turn this into an opportunity to learn about vampires. Byleth looks at him from head to toe one more time, surprised.

“You seem to be taking this rather well.”  
That makes Dimitri chuckle. He’s surprised he’s taking it so well, too. He’s survived through perilous flames, collapsing buildings and much worse. Leaving his friends behind and his livelihood on hold, the biggest regret is that he can’t be out there helping people right now.  
“I have little choice.”

“But what of your friends and family? I expected you to be in tears by now.” Dimitri takes the chance to stand up and stretch his legs. Byleth seems more at ease now that he’s shown no signs of attempting escape.  
“My parents passed away almost a decade ago.” Byleth quiets for a moment before reaching to place a hand on his shoulder.  
“My condolences.” Perhaps she could relate to losing someone she cared about.

  
Dimitri, though hesitant to bring this up now, has to know for sure.  
“If I stay here, you don’t plan on pursuing my friends, do you?”

“You didn’t have the chance to tell any of them that you’d seen me, did you?” Byleth looks up at him. “Not that you’d admit it.”  
Truthfully, he passed out before any chance to properly call for help. He hadn’t realized what happened until it was too late to react.

“No, I didn’t.”

  
“Then you don’t have to worry about them. They’ll likely start looking for you, but I can cross that bridge when we get there.”  
Good, then they will be safe. That much is a relief.

  
“What should we do now?” Dimitri starts, taking a better look around the room. All the windows are covered with curtains so he approaches one to pull the drapes aside. Byleth catches his bruised wrist, stopping him in place.

  
“Don’t.”

  
“Oh, apologies.” Dimitri winces. “Am I… not supposed to do that?” He’d only meant to check the time of day, see if any sunlight was pouring in.  
And then he remembered. Vampires are endangered by sunlight, right?  
Oops.

Byleth sighs, taking his embarrassment as a sign that he figured it out.  
“I suppose I need to teach you a thing or two about vampires. But it will have to wait… I’m getting tired.”  
Dimitri doesn’t understand.

  
“Aren’t vampires supposed to be nocturnal?”

  
“Normally, but healing myself and watching over you has been exhausting. I’m getting ready for bed.” She turns and walks towards a door that likely leads to her bedroom before pausing.

“That’s unfortunate. I don’t have any mens’ clothing on hand, sorry.” He often falls asleep before even changing out of his work clothes after a long day, so he’s used to it.

  
“I’ll manage. I can sleep on a couch if you don’t have an extra bed to spare.” With that, Byleth seems amused which unsettles him. “Do you… not have a sofa? I can sleep on the floor, or...”

“You’ll be sleeping with me.”

That makes Dimitri deeply anxious. Sleeping with her? Hopefully not what he thinks she means. He’s never been intimate with anyone before. Even sharing a bed with a woman he’s just met is too much. Dimitri twiddles his thumbs at a complete loss with what to say.

“I can’t leave you by yourself. What did you expect?” Byleth scoffs. “You can sleep on the floor of my room if you want that so badly.”

  
He clears his throat, hoping to clear the air..  
“I’ve never… never, um. I haven’t…”

“Nothing to be nervous about. The last time I had sex was long before you were born.”  
Is that supposed to be reassuring?

  
Stunned, he doesn’t realize that Byleth has walked up to him and tugs him by the bicep.  
“Now come on. I’m getting sleepier.”

No longer having the energy to protest, Dimitri follows Byleth through a hallway and enters her bedroom. Oddly enough, the pitch darkness of the room eases his nerves rather than spiking them. Not a single speck of light can be seen inside. Byleth’s hand drifts down from his arm to his hand to lead him through. Considering she has to be strong enough to carry him here, she can be quite delicate.

  
“Watch your step.” Dimitri nods, even though he isn’t sure Byleth can see it. His foot bumps against something soft: a pillow if he had to guess.

After stopping, he hears the soft thumping of objects being tossed on the floor.  
“The floor will be hard on your back, but I dropped some blankets and pillows for you. My bed is right next to you if you change your mind. Any questions?”  
Aside from ‘why is your room so dark that I can’t see anything,’ he isn’t sure.

“I suppose not.”

  
He kneels to start feeling where the blankets are and get himself situated but Byleth’s hand is still clutching his own. Confused, he moves at an angle where her hand would naturally fall off yet she firmly clings on. He’d heard her crawl on the bed and took that as his cue to lie down…

  
“So you don’t run away,” she murmurs. “Good night.”  
That makes sense.

  
“Good night,” he responds, shuffling his way into the blankets with only one hand, taking care not to twist Byleth’s arm in the process. Dimitri takes a deep breath before closing his eyes. He’d prefer to at least take his clothes off from the day but didn’t feel comfortable doing so with Byleth nearby. Looks like he’ll have to settle for sleeping like this, if he can sleep at all.

The only way to find out is to close his eyes and let his mind go.

**Author's Note:**

> It's been so long since I've written anything and stuck with it so hopefully my rust isn't showing too badly, haha. I'm aiming for the next update to be this Valentine's Day, so hope you look forward to it. Kudos or comments are appreciated <3
> 
> * "Two men sat in a prison. One stared at the concrete beneath his feet. The other looked outside and only saw stars" is a rephrasing of a quote by Dale Carnegie.


End file.
